Orcs and humans have waged fierce battles across the scarred earth of Azeroth for many moons, with never an end in sight. In a move sure to make peons whimper and paladins pray, Blizzard is extending the carnage with WarCraft II: Battle.Net Edition. Given WarCraftII's status and dedicated fan base, it's no surprise that the single-player game is untouched. The excellent Beyond the Dark Portal expansion set is included with the original Tides of Darkness, creating four campaigns and 70 missions that remain fun despite their age. The Orc and Human armies obviously have nearly identical strengths and weaknesses, but as in the past, the art and sound cues make them feel worlds apart. The real selling point is the vastly improved multiplayer experience. Aligning WarCraft II with Blizzard's other titles, more than one hundred multiplayer maps now let you take the struggle for Azeroth to the free "battle.net" service. Setting up games is simple enough for an Orc to figure out, and you can play against (or with) up to eight human or computer opponents. No AI can match the challenge of a human player's unpredictability, and thanks to the worldwide ladder, you can fight tooth and claw for rank against players spanning the globe. --Jack Gardiner